1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to ultrasound probes used in medical diagnostic and treatment procedures. In particular, the present disclosure relates to an ultrasound probe having an operational indicator assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Medical ultrasound imaging has become a popular means for visualizing and medically diagnosing the condition and health of interior regions of the human body. With this technique, a disinfected ultrasound probe having an array of acoustic transducers or a single transducer, in operative communication with an ultrasound system console via an interconnection cable, is provided against the patient's tissue or inserted within the patient's gastrointestinal tract where it is actuated to emit and receive focused ultrasound waves in a scanning fashion. The scanned ultrasound waves, or ultrasound beams, allow the systematic creation of image slices of the patient's internal tissues for display on a monitor of the ultrasound system console.
During ultrasonic imaging, the disinfected ultrasound probe is susceptible to becoming contaminated. Accordingly, it is an object of the present disclosure to present a system for providing operational data relating to the ultrasound probe, and especially data relating to the disinfection state of the ultrasound probe.